I walked in the practice room and my entire body stilled. Celine was nowhere to be found, the lingering scent of her cherry blossom perfume was still in the air, her bag was on the bench where she usually kept it when waiting for me.

But she was gone.

No traces of her. Or her beautiful deep green eyes that always lit up every time I came to get her.

I walked back out immediately calling Matías over, the head of the security team.

"Sir" Matías greeted with a frown. "Did you forget something?"

I paused. "Forget something? I just got here."

Matías looked at me as if I had grown three heads. "But.. We just saw you leave with Miss De la Cruz"

My stomach dropped like lead. I immediately grabbed my phone and called Agnus. My heart raced with each ring that went unanswered.

I moved like a man possessed. My large hands, usually so steady and precise, shook as I walked back in the practice room and grabbed her bag.

I ripped it open.

Her water bottle, her extra ballet shoes, her car keys, her cherry blossom perfumes, her phone and everything she usually carried was still inside. A low, animalistic sound tore from the back of my throat. My composure wasn't just cracking right now, it was shattering into dust.

I immediately pulled up the security footage of Celine's practice room on my phone. Everything seemed normal. Celine walked into the bathroom, and then came back out freshly showered. But after that the video remained like this.. Showing her sitting down and waiting. Nothing more.

A god damn loop.

I switched to the cameras outside and the realization hit me like a physical blow as I saw myself, dressed in the exact same clothes carrying Celine out. I zoomed in on her.

She looked different, hollow, unmoving. Her eyes.. God her eyes were begging for help and yet no one moved. Everyone thought it was fucking me. No wonder the guards outside were this oblivious and confused about my sudden appearance again.

She was taken by.. Kyron right under our nose.

And I was late. Too late.

I clenched the phone tightly in my hand. The theater was empty, and my little flame was gone. The fury and guilt that rolled off me was so suffocating that the air in the room felt heavy as lead, my fingers dug into my phone so hard I thought it would break. My heart broke at the scenarios my mind conjured.

Celine tortured by Kyron.

Choked.. Suffocated.

Her lifeless green eyes staring at me.

I couldn't take it. I closed my eyes counting to ten.

My phone rang, snapping me out of my own tormented mind. I picked up immediately, hand gripping the phone.

"Boss! Sorry I was in the middle of something. What's the matter?"Agnus' cheerful voice echoed on the other line.

"Check the fucking cameras Agnus. She's gone. That piece of shit took her."I snapped, walking outside and straight into my car.

If I stayed here any longer, I would lose it. Kyron already found what he wanted either way. I would deal with my men later.

I sigh slamming my car door shut.

It wasn't their fault she was taken. That was my face they saw.

I took deep breaths. Logically speaking my mind was right but my heart wanted to tear everything apart right now.

"Okay you are radiating that terrifying, soul-crushing aura of death, boss. It's not going to help" Agnus said, the clicking sound of his keyboard echoing through the call.

I scowled. "Find her Agnus."

"Okay okay. Wait.. The theater feeds are a masterpiece of cinematic deception. The guy actually wore your face. Honestly? Bold choice. Though his posture was tragic. You move with way more existential dread."Agnus'chatter grated on my nerves but the fucker yapped all the time, if that helped him think. Be it.

I grabbed the steering wheel with one hand and texted Landon with the other. The call with Agnus, still ongoing as I heard his fingers fly over the keyboards.

The text :

Celine is gone. Someone bypassed the theater detail. Get to the safe house immediately. Do not leave Elysium's side. If a single shadow touches that boy, I will burn the city down with us in it. Watch the doors.

A bare flicker of relief flooded my mind when Landon responded with 'On it Boss.' At least, Elysium would be safe with him. I couldn't take any risks. I needed our son safe until I got her back.

"Boss, we have a problem." Agnus cleared his throat making my grip on the steering wheel tighten.

"Where is she, Agnus?" My voice was a dead, hollow whisper filled with the promise of death.

"Calm down, Dracula. I'm already working my tech-wizard magic, alright." Agnus scoffed. "You're vibrating at a frequency that is ruining my focus."

"What's the problem?" I asked with a patience I didn't feel.

"We have a tiny, tech-related hitch. The tracking signal in Celine's left shoe? Completely flatlined. Same with the right one. Kyron knew exactly where to look. He stripped them off her."Agnus said, further fuelling my anger.

A low growl tore from my throat, my hand clenching the steering wheel turned white. "My father. He's the only one who could have pulled the technical specifications of those modified shoes from the Guild's database. He knew exactly how to blind us."

"Well, luckily for you, your father doesn't know about our little hair accessory upgrade," Agnus sighed, the sound of keyboard clacking rapidly in the background.

"The tracker in her scrunchy is still pinging in my personal database. The signal is faint, and they're moving fast, but I am currently running a deep frequency trace to lock down her exact coordinate grid right now. It's an elite digital puzzle, which means it's a perfect job for a genius like me. So don't worry, Boss. We will get her. What's your next move?"Agnus continued to ramble but my mind had only one goal.

"I'm going to finish this," I whispered, my eyes turning dead as I slammed my foot onto the gas, charging straight toward my father's mansion. "Keep tracing that scrunchy footprint. I'm going to rip the truth out of the old man myself."

If father thinks he can help Kyron take my woman and remained in one piece, he's going to fucking realise how sorely wrong he is.

I will rip him apart myself if need be. But he's going to confess where she is. One way or another.